Free Sweet Seduction Serenade by Nicola Claire Page A

off," he declared as though this was all a big inconvenience and it was all because of me. Of course, the fact that was true, didn't make the pill any easier to swallow.
    "Sorry?" I said, because honestly, what else could I say?
    "Why are you sorry?" he demanded back.
    "Well, for inconveniencing you," I explained slowly.
    He stared at me as though I had two heads. "We'll find them," he said, ignoring my apology which I thought was rude in the extreme. "Until then we'll up your protection. They may call in more favours and have someone else rough you up in an effort for you to call off the hounds."
    What?
    "So, I'm taking tonight," he announced beginning to turn away. "When you're ready to leave come get me."
    "Hey!" I shouted at his back, making him stop in his tracks and turn reluctant ice-blue eyes of frost on me. "You don't have to do that," was all I could think of to say.
    "It's nothing," he muttered and then turned to walk away again.
    "No, it's not," I announced to his back, making him stop again and turn back.
    He stared at me for several seconds, then stunned me by saying, "Don't read more into it than there actually is." Turned and started walking again.
    "What is it actually?" I asked, getting decidedly pissed off with his attitude. I didn't ask for him to announce I had ASI protection to the world. At this point I'd take Adam as a bodyguard over Nick any day, purely because the guy actually wanted to be around me, unlike Nick who was clearly doing this all as a favour to one of his staff. And because he wanted me there for his fiancée’s opening night of local talent showcasing.
    "You know what it is," he shot back, turning fully to face me, arms crossed over his chest.
    "No, quite frankly, I don't know what the darn hell your problem is and I don't much like it, cowboy," I shot right back at him, cowgirl attitude in full swing.
    He took a menacing step towards me. "Eight years," he said slowly, taking another step and forcing me to take one step back to not come chest to chest with him. "Eight years you're out of my life and then in one night you come crashing back in, in your short, cute little cowgirl dress, your fuck-me cowgirl boots and that" - his eyes shot up and over my head - "fucking cowgirl hat. Legs and tits and arse in my face and a Tennessee attitude that wasn't there the last time I looked and I'm finding kinda hard to fucking ignore. Not to mention," he went on taking another step closer, forcing me to step numbly back and feel the hard edge of the LP stand at my back, "that fucking voice and what it does to not only me, but half my fucking men. Who all spend way too much time in the control room at night watching you sing." Um, what? "You know fucking damn well what this is all about," he finished, pushing himself right up into my face and then leaning further forward, one hand bracing himself on each side of my body, effectively fencing me in.
    I was stunned. So stunned, I could hardly breathe. I had no darn idea what the hell he was talking about. I was so confused, my head was shaking from side to side and then his face tipped forward, as though he was going to do something. And the something I mean is kiss me. I couldn't have that. I had no idea what sort of fucked up relationship he had with his fiancée, letting his cousin - or whoever the darn hell that guy-who-could-have-been-related-to-him was - do whatever the darn hell he was doing to her in front of him, but even if I was a bad-girl cowgirl on occasion, I did not kiss another woman's man . Period. End of story. My bottom line.
    "My boyfriend's on his way from Nashville right now," I blurted out in his face, which was only by this stage a mere inch away from mine. "On a plane," I explained, because obviously he needed to know that information and then in a worthy imitation of Gen, I added my own run-away mouth moment. "To see me. He misses me. He's got someone driving his truck so he could take time off and fly all the way here to see